1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to storage and retrieval systems. In particular, the invention is directed towards a modular storage and retrieval system for a computer or a series of interconnected computers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional backup devices usually employ a monolithic backup and retrieval system servicing a single server with attached storage devices. These systems usually control all aspects of data backup or retrieval, including timing the backup, directing the files to be backed up, directing the mode of the archival request, and directing the storage process itself through an attached storage device or devices. Further, these backup and retrieval systems are not scalable and often direct only one type of backup and retrieval system, whether it is a network backup or a single machine backup.
Due to the monolithic structure of these backup and retrieval systems, a slight change in the operation of any one of several functional aspects of the backup and retrieval system requires an expenditure of a large amount of effort. The effort would include upgrading and changing the backup and retrieval system, perhaps even up to reinstalling the backup and retrieval system in its entirety.
In addition, the operation of a backup and retrieval system across a network containing several different types of hardware and operating systems present many challenges to an enterprise scale backup. These problems include data coherency, bridging file system protocols, and accessibility issues across multiple hardware and operating system configurations.
Other solutions do not address scalability issues, hierarchy issues, and the problems inherent in the storage of different files in a network file system. Many other problems and disadvantages of the prior art will become apparent to one skilled in the art after comparing such prior art with the present invention as described herein.